Activists Ask DA to Reopen Linda Fairstein's Cases
Today (June 5) in New York City, at 2 p.m., public advocate Jumaane Williams and Women’s March leaders Tamika D. Mallory and Linda Sarsour will go to the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building to call on Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance to reopen all of former prosecutor Linda Fairstein’s cases, Justice League NYC announced via Twitter yesterday (June 4).
Tomorrow 2pm at 1 Centre Street in Manhattan, we’ll join @JumaaneWilliams @lsarsour @TamikaDMallory and more calling on @CyVanceforDA to #ReopenTheFairsteinCases ! We must make sure the predatory prosecutor has no other victims!! pic.twitter.com/RYVteMaNK3
— Justice League NYC (@NYjusticeleague) June 5, 2019
Since Netflix’s debut of Academy Award-winner Ava DuVernay’s four-part series “When They See Us” on Friday (May 31), Fairstein (played by Felicity Huffman) has been under intense scrutiny for her handling of the Central Park Five case.
Thirty years after she prosecuted five innocent Black and Latinx kids, Fairstein is getting her time in the court of public opinion. Yesterday, TMZ reported that, “after careful consideration,” she resigned from her board of directors post at the nonprofit Safe Horizon. The resignation came a day after Twitter created #CancelLindaFairstein and several petitions, including one via Change.org “to ask all retailers and book publishers to stop selling Linda Fairstein books or any product that has ties to her.” At press time, more than 83,000 supporters had signed the petition.
“Even if it's 30 years later, she has to pay for her crime,” Raymond Santana, one of the then-boys who was falsely accused of sexual assault, told TMZ at the start of the boycotts.
Many used Twitter to call for justice for Fairstein:
Took me 3days many pauses & tears to get through this. Like other recent movies this can't go unanswered.
— Jumaane Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) June 3, 2019
Cases need to be reopened, careers reexamined.#KoreyWise!! & #CP5 we won't forgot. &
Other victims because a rapist walked free!!
Sister @ava thank u!!#WhenTheySeeUs pic.twitter.com/vVrNRcf93M
Every single last case of hers should be re-examined #CancelLindaFairstein
— Questlove De La Rose (@questlove) June 4, 2019
#CancelLindaFairstein Amazon & all other book retailers : Linda Fairstein Central Park five book removal - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/jwUk9ip6H4 via @Change
— aubs (@ayeee_woods) June 5, 2019